Press

Motorcycle accident set Waukesha chef’s career path

Kristine M. Kierzek

March 23, 2018

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

When Jason Tofte and his wife, Cristina, purchased The Steaming Cup in downtown Waukesha in 2015, they embraced simplicity and community.
Tofte spent 18 years immersed in the world of fine dining at Eddie Martini’s in Wauwatosa. It’s where the chef perfected his steak searing skills, and where he met Cristina, who had worked at Sanford.

50 BEST RESTAURANTS – 2017

SYDNEY PURPORA

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Milwaukee’s Lifestyle Magazine

The Milwaukee area’s culinary community is undoubtedly stronger than ever, and paring down its many restaurants into a list of just 50 was no easy feat. Our editors weighed various factors, including the inventiveness of the establishment’s cuisine and overall ambiance, when deciding which restaurants deserved a spot on this list, and we’re excited to finally share it with you, our loyal readers and fellow foodies. Enjoy!

Top 50 Restaurants Ranked

CAROL DEPTOLLA

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel#23: Tofte’s Table – How would chef Jason Tofte cook for you if you were invited to his home? Pretty much as he does for customers at Tofte’s Table, he says, the stylish, relaxed restaurant he and his wife, Cristina, opened in downtown Waukesha a year ago. The shareable plates have a homey feel but are served with the polish an accomplished chef provides.

Chicken and duck thighs are served with gnocchi and broccolini in the birds’ juices; octopus is grilled and served with greens in a bright lemon-mustard dressing. It’s all thoroughly delicious. The restaurant is as good for date night as it is for groups, especially with a communal table front and center.

Dish of the Month: Comfort Zone

SARAH C. LANGE

MARCH 30, 2017

Milwaukee’s Lifestyle Magazine
“The place is designed to feel like you came to our house for dinner,” says Jason Tofte, co-owner with his wife, Cristina, of Tofte’s Table in downtown Waukesha. A mix of Mason jars, crystal wine glasses and antique serving utensils plus the pair’s regular table visits to chat with guests lend a relaxed atmosphere to the elegant space painted deep purple.

Before opening their own restaurant, Jason worked as a chef for almost 20 years at Eddie Martini’s, and Cristina managed Sanford and Coquette Café. Theirs too is a fine-dining establishment, and refined comfort food staples like fried chicken drumsticks and meatloaf with Yukon mash share the menu with octopus and braised pork belly for more adventurous diners.

Tofte’s Table provides unique dining experience in downtown Waukesha

When restaurant veterans hone skills through various experiences to the point that they can be inventive on their own, patrons are treated to a unique experience.

That’s the case at Tofte’s Table, established in August 2016 in the former site of Waukesha’s Key Westconsin, 331 Riverfront Plaza. Owners Jason and Cristina Tofte, also proprietors of nearby The Steaming Cup, have created a place where comfort food and inventive dishes intersect in a setting that combines a cool, sleek environment with an emphasis on communal dining.

Turning Tables

When Jason Tofte helmed the kitchen of Eddie Martini’s, he suited up in a white chef’s coat, cooked on the line and rarely ventured out to chat with patrons. That changed when the 18-year Tosa steakhouse vet left to run Waukesha’s The Steaming Cup with his wife, Cristina. The Cup came with a sizable built-in clientele, and serving up lattes with hummus wraps required interaction with customers.

The trepidation of being visible evaporated over time, so that when Jason and Cristina looked at a vacant restaurant storefront near the Cup (thinking it might benefit their small cafe to have more space), they started considering another venture – one with the informality of a cafe but a more elevated tone, where both owners work the front of the house. A venue where plates are shareable, service is casual and convivial. That’s the premise of Tofte’s Table.

Milwaukee’s Best New Restaurants of 2016

CAROL DEPTOLLA

DECEMBER 29, 2016

It was a banner year for new restaurants.

Restaurants that let a diner eat like a world traveler, restaurants that put a personal stamp on their dishes, restaurants that showed just how good a steak or a pizza could be — they’re on the 2016 list of best new restaurants.

Since 2008, this annual list has included anywhere from six to 10 restaurants; in 2016, a dozen places have made the list, and I could have gone on.

Setting a place at Tofte’s Table

Here I was at Tofte’s Table, a new restaurant in downtown Waukesha by a chef who had made his name at a popular steakhouse, and one of the plates I was most charmed by was meatless.

I’d seen too many plates of pedestrian steamed vegetables to have huge expectations for the menu’s grilled vegetables ($10). But here came a heaped, vivid plate of vegetables that weren’t the usual suspects, made even more interesting by their time on the grill and a bit of char for extra flavor. Still life with deliciousness.

3 dishes: Cristina and Jason Tofte of Tofte’s Table

LORI FREDRICH

NOVEMBER 14, 2016

What’s in a restaurant?

In this series, we ask chefs around the city to describe their restaurants in their own words and recommend three dishes that embody the best of what they offer. In this edition, we talk with Cristina and Jason Tofte of Tofte’s Table in Waukesha.

“We’ve been together for almost 20 years, and married for 17,” notes Cristina Tofte. “Since we’ve been together, when we go out to dinner, Jason always orders the food. It keeps coming and we’re sharing all of the dishes. It provokes conversation and interaction. We’re laughing. We’re trying each others plates, and it’s just a more full experience.”